Contents tagged with Dynamics

Posted by sumeethevans on December 16 2010, 5:29 AM.
Posted in Dynamics.

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Release Candidate (RC) is now available for download in the Microsoft Download Center. As with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta, the Release Candidate is available for anyone to download, and will be available until the RTM release scheduled for Q1, 2011. This release represents the combined efforts and feedback from customers and partners working on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Beta so thank you for all of you involved in this process.

Upgrades: On-premises Beta databases can be upgraded to this new RC release which can then be upgraded to the upcoming RTM release.

Release Candidate is the last external milestone before the CRM Online Release to Web (RTW) launch in January 2011, and the on-premises Release to Manufacturing (RTM) in Q1, 2011, so please continue testing and validating this new pre-release version as well as continue building your deployments and solutions to be ready for the RTW and RTM releases.

Posted by sumeethevans on September 14 2010, 12:51 AM.
Posted in Dynamics.

Microsoft said on Thursday that it is ready with a public beta of the next version of its CRM software, a program for midsize businesses to track their clients.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, as the program is known, can be purchased either as server software or as a hosted service. The current version CRM 4, is available in hosted form from Microsoft only in the U.S. and Canada. With the new release, which is due in final form by the end of the year, Microsoft is expanding the hosted option to more than 40 countries.

In an interview this week, Microsoft Vice President Michael Park said that the new CRM version is designed to add new reporting capabilities and is designed to work better with and more closely resemble Outlook.

Park declined to predict how many more customers this time will opt for the hosted product as opposed to the version customers run on their own servers. "It's hard to tell, and to be honest I don't care as long as the customer is taking it," Park said.

Posted by sumeethevans on August 2 2010, 10:24 PM.
Posted in Dynamics.

Today’s retailer is facing ever-expanding opportunity, but they are also facing unprecedented challenges. Retailers have more channels to reach their customers and grow globally, but they must also serve an empowered consumer with access to more information and choice than ever before. It’s commonplace to find retail customers in the store cross-shopping the latest promotion or competitor down the street – forcing retailers to use IT in an entirely different way to drive visibility across the organization, to react quickly, seize new opportunities, and build customer loyalty. Retailers also have to find new ways to make their most valuable asset – people – more productive.

This week marks the worldwide general availability of Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, a new end-to-end solution for midsized specialty retailers that offers a deep level of integration across point of sale, store management, supply chain, merchandising and financials to address business productivity, while enhancing customer service

For nonprofits and NGOs interested in the on-demand deployment, the solution is available through Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online — an on-demand service hosted and managed by Microsoft. Pricing for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for qualifying nonprofits and NGOs is $9.99 per user, per month. Customizations for nonprofits and NGOs are offered free of charge.

“Nonprofits and NGOs are always challenged with doing more with less,” said Sarah Barnhart, senior program manager of community affairs at Microsoft. “We see technology being a key enabler of helping nonprofits to reduce administration and focus their resources on where they can have the biggest impact. Microsoft Dynamics CRM for nonprofits and NGOs includes customized features that simplify administration and management for organizations of every size.”

Microsoft Corp. today announced the Community Technical Preview 3 (CTP3) for the next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, code-named “CRM5.” This CTP is primarily aimed at software developers within the broad partner base of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, including independent software vendors (ISVs), global system integrators (GSIs), hosting partners and value-added resellers (VARs), giving them an opportunity to start early development and testing of their solutions for this new release.

The CTP software is available as on-premises software, as well as through pre-release versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online running in datacenters in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC). The availability in international datacenters is in preparation for the global expansion of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service beyond the U.S. and Canada today and into EMEA, APAC and Latin America.

More than 400 select partners are engaged in the CTP3 program, and that number will be expanded in the coming months.

“We see Microsoft Dynamics CRM driving innovation and focus in the customer relationship management (CRM) marketplace. It continues to raise the bar on ease of use, and delivers real and measurable value to our customers,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president of the Avanade Technology Solutions Group. “This next generation of the product provides us with more opportunities to create innovative solutions for our customers.”

“With this next version, Microsoft is continuing to drive new levels of user productivity and collaboration, giving customers deep core CRM capabilities, low total cost of ownership, and fast and easy deployment options for their CRM applications,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

The next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM will support more than 40 languages, and will be offered as an online service, as on-premises software and via partner-hosted offerings. Availability of the new product will begin in the second half of 2010.

We are excited to bring you a rich portfolio of over 100 packaged software solutions covering a wide range of industries, verticals and regions.

Whether you are looking for a solution to automate tax preparation for Spanish companies, to streamline fashion industry processes in Hong Kong, or to reduce printing costs in the U.S., we are confident that you will find the right solution for your specific business needs.All solutions in this catalogue have been compatibility tested. Over half of them have already earned the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics® accreditation and the rest are in the process towards achieving accreditation. The Certified for Microsoft Dynamics logo helps you clearly distinguish packaged software solutions delivered by Microsoft partners which have met Microsoft’s highest standard for partner developed software solutions. Solutions in this catalogue have met these stringent criteria to be able to offer you a menu of trusted, lower-risk solutions for faster implementation and simpler maintenance.

As businesses expand globally, so does the complexity of managing accurate business insights and standardizing operations across multiple locations. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 offers new multisite and shared services capabilities, enabling customers to manage complex financial and supply chain processes more easily. For example, the new software can run multiple legal entities on a central installation and provide a single, integrated view of financial and supply chain information from facilities around the world, helping organizations simplify global planning. Advanced planning and reporting scenarios, such as consolidation and budgeting, are offered through integration with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server.

“With its innovative role-based user experience, improved reporting and BI capabilities, and improving platform harmonization, Microsoft Dynamics products should be on ERP selection shortlists for a variety of SMBs, particularly those that use Microsoft’s server-based products,” wrote R “Ray” Wang of Forrester Research Inc. in the firm’s report “Microsoft Dynamics Gets Renewed Focus” in April 2008. “Multisite companies should consider Dynamics AX.”

Another business challenge that growing companies face is the increasing pressure to meet global and local regulatory compliance, a complex and costly problem that has been a top priority for chief executive officers and chief financial officers. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 delivers core features to help companies limit these risks and lower total cost of compliance, including the following:

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A compliance center that provides one central, integrated view of internal controls, key performance indicators (KPIs) and other compliance data

Country-specific functionality to help customers more easily comply with local regulations in 36 countries

“Managing risk is an integral part of my job, and Microsoft Dynamics AX makes my job easier,” said John Elmer, vice president, information systems, and controller, the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. “I can access critical company information from within the Executive Role Center and see a 360-degree view of our global IT and finance operations, ranging from compliance risks to how the company is tracking against forecasts.” The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, based in New York, represents a wide variety of entertainment copyrights for more than 200 writers, including Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, through its theatrical, concert and music publishing divisions.

In a fast-paced world, people need software that helps them do their jobs more effectively and with minimal training. To increase productivity and foster more confident decision-making, the RoleTailored design of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 gives employees access to critical business data through the following new features:

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A Role Center that prioritizes tasks and real-time information for a majority of business functions

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A user interface that looks and feels like familiar Microsoft Office software to help employees ramp up quickly, resulting in higher user productivity and more consistent adherence to business processes

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Self-service business intelligence tools using Microsoft Business Intelligence technologies to deliver standard KPIs by role and simplify end-user reporting, which results in more informed decision-making and integrity of information across the organization. Preconfigured KPIs and reports enable customers to start immediately.

For the past couple of years, Microsoft has been crowing about its hosted CRM service that competes head-to-head with services from Salesforce.com. It wasn’t until today, April 22, however, that Microsoft’s offering in this space became generally available.

Microsoft has now taken the “Early Access” label off its Microsoft-hosted Dynamics CRM Online service. Starting today, Microsoft will be offering two different versions of its hosted service: Dynamics CRM Online Professional and Dynamics CRM Online Professional Plus. (The main difference between the two, besides the $20 price differential, is the Plus version provides offline data-sync and expanded storage.)

Microsoft is offering the Professional version of Dynamics CRM Online for an introductory price (an offer that lasts throughout calendar 2008) of $39 per user per month. The Professional Plus release is $59 per user per month.

Microsoft says more than 500 customers and 200 resellers have been testing the Professional version of the service for the past six months.

As my ZDNet blogging colleage Josh Greenbaum noted last week, while Microsoft will be competing with Oracle, Zoho and other hosted CRM vendors, Microsoft (and Salesforce) really see the hosted CRM space as a Microsoft vs. Salesforce contest. And just like it has done traditionally with on-premise software, Microsoft is going to emphasize low price/high volume as its primary advantage. The Redmondians are also playing up the familiar Office user interface and its network of partners as other areas where Microsoft will have a strong story vs. Salesforce.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is available as a 90-day trial version in each language in which Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is available. This page will be updated with new languages as they are released. Each trial version can be converted to full use by applying a commercial license key in the License area of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Deployment Manager. Reinstallation is not required.To use the 90-day trial, you must apply one of the convertible trial keys available here. To receive the trial software, download it from this page or reuse Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 media by using one of the following trial keys:

As Michael Lu reports, they shipped 4.0 on Friday. It generally takes a couple of weeks for everything to hit all of the download sites, etc... But it looks like the Product Development made good on a Q4 Delivery Date for Microsoft Dynamics 4.0. (aka Titan....) The US Launch parties for customers start in March

Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI), a complete suite of server, client, and developer products, supports decision makers in developing deeper knowledge and insight that helps them make better business decisions, faster.

Microsoft BI is delivered through three layers or workloads: data warehousing, reporting and analysis, and performance management and R5 has demos across these three workloads.